


Ultimatum

by RySenkari



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Amity/Lilith (Student/Mentor), Bad Girl Coven, Bullying, Drama, Eda/Lilith (Sisters), F/F, Friendship, Hooty - Freeform, Lumity, Memory Tweezers, Post-Grom, Romance, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:35:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25805230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RySenkari/pseuds/RySenkari
Summary: As Amity continues to ruminate on her newly realized feelings for Luz following Grom night, she's approached by Lilith, who's noticed how close the two have become. Lilith needs Amity's help convincing Eda to join the Emperor's Coven... and plans to get that help by reminding her of how much danger Luz would be in if Eda's curse wasn't lifted soon.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 11
Kudos: 204





	Ultimatum

Amity Blight spent much of the first school day after Grom in somewhat of a daze. She had enough of her wits about her that she still managed to pay attention in her classes, and complete all her classwork, but every moment inbetween was spent thinking about that night... about that dance... about that human.

She passed by Luz a few times in the hallway, and had waved and said hi, and Luz had waved right back at her, smiling every time. They were friends now... maybe _best_ friends, Luz was certainly the best friend that Amity had, though Amity knew Luz had plenty of other friends besides her. 

_We're just friends. And that's fine... Luz doesn't know. I can't tell her, not yet. I don't know what she'd say... I don't know how she'd take it. She probably doesn't even like girls. We danced together, she enjoyed it, I loved it..._

Amity's mind kept replaying that dance whenever she tried to focus. She was able to fight off the memories long enough to answer her teachers' questions and avoid looking distracted, but she couldn't keep Luz out of her mind that entire day! Even after the final bell rang, Amity was thinking of her.

And she was thinking of Luz when she heard one of her teachers calling out to her from across the hallway.

“Miss Blight?”

Amity looked up to see Lilith, head of the Emperor's Coven and her witch mentor, walking over to her.

“Yes, Miss Lilith?”

“A word, please?” asked Lilith, gesturing for Amity to follow her into an empty classroom.

“Of course,” replied Amity. “Though... it's not my normal tutoring day.”

“This isn't about that, it's about something else.”

Amity wondered what Lilith could possibly want from her as she followed her into the empty classroom. She knew her magic hadn't been slipping, and the two had already addressed the Covention incident... an incident that Lilith had thoroughly apologized for. The two were still on excellent terms... Amity was still Lilith's top student, and Lilith was still Amity's favorite teacher, someone who'd taught her so much about magic, and was as encouraging as she was knowledgeable. Lilith's face didn't seem especially stern today, so Amity didn't suspect that she was in any sort of trouble... perhaps Lilith wanted to talk to her about college? Or even the Emperor's Coven?

_Or it might just be something as mundane as rescheduling our session for this week,_ thought Amity to herself.  _Lilith has been awfully busy lately..._

Once Amity was inside the room, Lilith made sure the door was locked, and even placed a magical seal around it to prevent anyone from entering... or any sound from leaking out. Amity noticed this, and realized that what Lilith wanted to speak with her with was something she wanted to keep quite confidential.

_It IS the Emperor's Coven! Maybe she's putting me on a candidacy track? Oh wow... that's such a big responsibility... can I handle it? Of course I can handle it. I'm Amity Blight, I can handle anything!_

Lilith could see that Amity was fidgeting nervously, and she gestured for her to sit down at the desk. After she did, Lilith sat down across from her.

“I heard that you were this year's Grom Queen,” said Lilith.

“Uh, yeah,” replied Amity, not expecting Lilith to start the conversation with Grom, but she figured that word about what had happened must have gotten to the Emperor's Coven rather quickly. “It... went well.”

“That's quite the honor,” Lilith continued. “Defeating Grom, facing down your fears...”

“Actually,” said Amity, slightly nervous as she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, but wanting to tell her teacher the truth. “I had a little... help.”

  
“I know,” said Lilith. Amity pushed back in her chair a bit, surprised that Lilith knew about Luz's presence at Grom. “Help from the human girl, Luz. Actually, that's what I want to talk to you about.”

Upon realizing that the conversation was focused on Luz, Amity slid back her chair even more, and felt her heart beat faster... significantly so. She hadn't expected Lilith to want to discuss Luz with her at all, let alone this quickly, and she put her hand to her chest and started to take a few nervous breaths as her mind raced with all the possible things that Lilith might want to say about Luz. Was Lilith going to tell Amity not to see her again? Was she angry with Luz because Luz lived with Eda? Amity's cheeks began to redden, and her entire body began to shake. She looked across the desk at Lilith, her vision blurring slightly as she tried to read the expression on her mentor's face.

_What... does Lilith... want... with Luz? And why does she need me?_

Amity gasped softly.

_Of course. That's why she needs me._

Luz was close to Eda... and Amity was close to Luz. And Lilith needed something from Eda, she'd learned that much from talking to Luz. She looked up at Lilith again, then back down at her hands, which were shaking and sweating. She knew what she needed to do, but her mind and heart were both racing, as she struggled to find the courage to say what she wanted to say. She couldn't even look at her mentor anymore. Every time she looked at Lilith, she lost her nerve. Her eyes darted back and forth. She wanted to leave the room, but the door was sealed, she couldn't. She wanted to jump out the window. She wanted to be anywhere but here.

And yet... Amity found herself rising up out of her chair. Her heart was outracing her brain.

“Before you say anything else, the answer is no,” said Amity, calmly but firmly, without a hint of nervousness in her voice... even as her mouth felt dry and her heart felt like it was going to explode.

“Excuse me?” replied Lilith.

“I won't help you if it has anything to do with Luz. I won't hurt her, and I won't lie to her. Even if it means losing my chance to be in the Emperor's Coven, the answer is no,” said Amity, sounding determined at first, but then finding herself anxiously stammering afterward. “...I mean, I still want to join the Emperor's Coven someday, but not by hurting Luz.”

Lilith stood up, and Amity almost fell back in her chair, expecting to be angrily scolded, or worse... but instead, Lilith's expression softened, and her voice did as well.

“My dear, I'd never ask you to hurt your friend,” Lilith said calmly, her hand reaching out to Amity as if to plead with her. “I'm asking you to help me protect her.”

Amity, half-stunned and half-relieved that her defiance hadn't earned her the worst scolding of her life, breathed a sigh of relief... then she looked perplexed.

“What do you mean, _protect her_?”

“Amity, do you know that my sister Edalyn is afflicted with a terrible curse? Has Luz told you?”

“N...no,” said Amity, looking more perplexed than before, and sitting back down in her chair. Lilith walked around the desk and went behind Amity, continuing to pace and look into her eyes as she spoke.

“It happened some time ago, and I've tried to lift the curse myself, but with no success,” said Lilith. “It causes my sister to transform periodically into a terrible owl like beast... she goes into a rampage, and destroys and devours everything around her.”

“What?” stammered Amity, as Lilith continued to speak. “Are you serious?”

“I wish I wasn't,” Lilith replied. “At first, she could control it by consuming a special potion, but the transformations are occurring with increasing frequency, and the potion is starting to have less and less of an effect... soon, the potion won't be able to help her at all, and then...”

As Lilith trailed off, Amity's mind began to wander... imagining Eda as a terrible beast, smashing the Owl House and hurting...

“...and then what?”

“And then nothing will be able to stop her... she'll destroy everything close to her, including-”

“Luz,” said Amity, finishing Lilith's sentence for her.

“Exactly,” said Lilith.

“...I don't believe you,” Amity replied. Of course, Amity had no reason not to trust her favorite teacher... Lilith certainly had reason to lie, but had always told her the truth, and this didn't seem to be any exception. Her accusation was more out of sheer denial than anything else... not wanting to believe that Eda could be such a danger to Luz.

“Let me show you,” said Lilith, taking a pair of memory tweezers out of her cloak and placing them up to her ear. She extracted a memory from several years earlier, of her facing down an enraged and transformed Eda... she was attempting to keep Eda back with a powerful magical blast, while Eda roared and swiped at her with a powerful claw. “I might be able to lie, but memories can't.”

Amity gasped as she saw the extracted memory with her own eyes... of a ferocious beast that had enough of Eda's appearance left to be unmistakably her, while Lilith looked terrified as she barely held her sister back.

“...so what do you need me to do?” asked Amity, as Lilith placed the memory picture and the tweezers back inside her cloak.

“I need you to ask Luz to convince Edalyn to join the Emperor's Coven,” said Lilith. “If she does, Emperor Belos will be able to remove her curse, and she'll be safe... as will Luz.”

“If Emperor Belos can remove Eda's curse, why hasn't he already? Haven't you asked him?”

“The curse doesn't just transform Eda,” said Lilith. “Haven't you noticed how much older she appears than me? She's only a few years older, but she looks old enough to be my mother. The curse weakens her, and her magic. Belos needs to give her the Emperor's Brand in order to feel safe about removing her curse. Otherwise, there's no telling what she could do.”

“He doesn't trust her,” said Amity, rolling her eyes.

“Why should he? She's the most wanted criminal on the Boiling Isles, and for good reason. She's a more powerful witch than I am, as much as I hate to admit it, and her powers are incredibly dangerous. Without the Brand to control her, there's no telling what she's capable of... what she could do.”

“Eda would never hurt anyone!” shouted Amity suddenly, the first time she'd raised her voice to Lilith since telling her that she wouldn't help her harm Eda. Though she still felt nervous about defying her teacher, she was filled with a determination that she'd gotten from her time with Luz... and was determined to defend Eda's character, if only because Luz seemed to like her so much. “I know she might be... a thief, and a criminal, and a rebel, but she's a good person! She's been like a mom to Luz ever since she got here, and she's helped Luz out a lot, and she helped me out too. I know you two are on really bad terms right now, but you _know_ Eda's not dangerous, not like Emperor Belos thinks she is.”

Lilith sighed... knowing on some level that her young pupil was right, more right than she knew. Lilith loved Eda, loved her dearly, and knew that deep down, she _was_ a good person... just a couple weeks ago, Eda had risked her life to save Lilith from a giant crab monster. Lilith was sure she could've eventually freed herself without her sister's help, but it would've been a close shave, and she was grateful to Eda for sparing her the trouble. And yet, Eda was still a rebel, capable of sowing chaos throughout the Boiling Isles, and ruining the order that Emperor Belos and his coven had worked so hard to build. If it was up to Lilith, she'd remove Eda's curse and trust her sister to eventually do the right thing...

But it wasn't up to Lilith.

“You don't think I've already tried making this argument to the Emperor?” asked Lilith, placing her hand on Amity's shoulder. “He refuses to lift the curse without the assurance of the Brand, and nothing you or I can say will convince him of that. The only way Edalyn's curse will be lifted is if she joins the Emperor's Coven... and I'm sorry to say that the clock is ticking. That's why I need your help... please, Amity, ask Luz to convince Edalyn to take the Emperor's offer. I'm not asking you to lie to her, or threaten her, I'm asking you to tell her the truth... for Luz's sake and my sister's.”

Amity began fidgeting nervously again. She folded her hands up in her lap, twitching her thumbs as she thought about everything Lilith had told her.

_Lilith's right, if Eda turns into that... thing around Luz, she won't have a chance. She'd tear Luz apart... but there's got to be more to this than Lilith's letting on, otherwise, why would she come to me? Why now? Is it just because the curse is about to overtake Eda entirely, or is there something more to it?_

Amity looked back up at Lilith, who was looking down at her with the same pleading expression as before. Amity could see the genuine concern in her mentor's eyes, and knew that Lilith was speaking from the heart, even if she still didn't entirely trust her motivations. She thought about Luz... did Luz know? Had Luz ever seen the monster before? And if she had, what had happened?

“What plans does the emperor have for Eda? Wouldn't he take her away from Luz?” asked Amity, not wanting Luz to lose her own mentor in all of this.

“I'm not sure, and if I knew, I probably wouldn't be allowed to tell you,” replied Lilith. “But know this... I love my sister, and I'd never ask her to join the Emperor's Coven if I knew it would mean losing her. He's not going to brainwash her, or enslave her, or anything like that. If anything... he'd probably appoint her co-leader along with me, which is _not_ something I'm looking forward to, even if it did mean working alongside my sister. And if that were the case, I'm sure Luz would be able to see her. I'm not sure how my sister is living now, but I doubt it's as comfortably as I'm living.”

Amity followed the train of thought from that statement, as if it implied that Luz's situation might also improve upon Eda joining the Emperor's Coven. Amity had seen the Owl House, and though it wasn't ideal, Luz seemed comfortable and happy, even with sleeping on the floor.

_I sleep in a mansion, and I'm not usually as comfortable as Luz seems to be,_ thought Amity, looking away from Lilith again, only for Lilith to place a hand on her chin and gently lift her head up to look at her.

“Luz will be fine, and a lot safer,” said Lilith, smiling at Amity as if to reassure her. “I promise you, this will be for the best.”

“I'm... surprised,” said Amity.

“Surprised about what?”

“Surprised that you know about Luz and you're not... upset,” said Amity. “I'm friends with a human, a human who can't do natural magic, a human who's friends with Eda, the most wanted criminal on the Boiling Isles. And... you know I've patched things up with Willow too, right? I mean, we're not quite friends again, or anything, but she knows why I stopped being friends with her, and I think she's ready to start over... you're not upset at all about any of that?”

“Why would I be?” said Lilith, looking almost offended. “What your parents did, forcing you to reject Willow, that was terrible, and I would have stopped it if I could... if I'd known, if you had been my pupil back then, I would have given you my assurances that Willow would have gotten into Hexside.”

“...really?” Amity stammered, stunned that Lilith would have done such a thing for her and for Willow. “Even considering that Willow was a late bloomer in terms of magic?”

“Well, that is _why_ she needed to go to Hexside, so that she could be properly instructed in magic and realize her potential,” said Lilith, who was now kneeling in front of Amity to be on eye level with her, and even starting to smile. “Amity, what happened with Willow was terribly unfortunate, and I'm so sorry I wasn't there to keep the two of you together.”

“...I was terrible to her, not just on that day, but for years after,” said Amity, her eyes trembling in shame as a tear formed on the edges of one of them. “I bullied her, I let my friends bully her... she didn't deserve any of it.”

“Believe me, I know what it's like to be bullied,” said Lilith, pulling out the memory tweezers and handing them to Amity. “Would you like to see?”

Amity nodded, and taking the tweezers, extracted several memories from her mentor's mind. On the extracted photographs, she could see images of Lilith, who was about the same age in the memories as Amity was now, in situations of increasingly severe bullying... from being laughed at by classmates, to having food dumped on her head, to having her favorite books fly away from her, to being wrapped up inside a locker with magic ropes with a piece of tape reading “teacher's pet” stuck over her mouth. Lilith's expression looked increasingly miserable as Amity thumbed through the pictures, and she almost seemed to be crying in the final one.

“That's terrible,” said Amity, looking over the pictures before noticing one common denominator in most of them... her sister Edalyn, head adorned with bright red hair, was the culprit of most of the pranks. “Is that... Eda?”

“Sometimes we can be cruel without truly meaning to,” said Lilith.

“Tell me about it,” Amity groaned, remembering some of the cruel things her own siblings had done to her. “Do you... resent her?”

“Actually, no,” said Lilith, taking the tweezers and extracting more memories... showing much better times between the two, including Lilith helping a frustrated Eda study for a big test, Lilith cheering Eda on at Grudgby, Eda using magic to scare off the cheerleading squad from picking on Lilith, and finally, Eda helping to get Lilith's lunch money back from a thief. “There were pranks, sure, sometimes cruel ones, but most of the time we were still quite close... a lot closer than we are now.”

Amity remembered how close she and Willow used to be, before her parents had forced them apart, before all the bullying had started... and wondered how long it would be before the two of them went back to being that close again.

“The point is that I'm not upset with you for having Luz or Willow as friends. You can have whatever friends you want to have. I'm proud of you for defeating Grom, and I'm proud of you for standing up for what you believe in... but I also need you to understand the seriousness of this situation. My sister is in danger, and so is everyone around her, including Luz.”

Lilith's words brought Amity back to reality, and as Lilith took back the memory pictures she'd extracted, her words echoed in Amity's mind, as did the images she'd shown of that beast that Eda might turn into again.

_Lilith's right, if Eda turns into that thing, Luz is in danger... but surely Luz has to know about it by now, right? What did Luz do last time Eda transformed? And surely there's another way to lift the curse besides Belos. Either way, I don't think I'd be able to get Luz to convince Eda to join the Emperor's Coven, even if I wanted to._

“If I do this,” said Amity, emphasizing the 'if', “I don't want any reward. I'm not doing this for the Emperor's Coven, I'm doing it to help Luz.”

“I didn't say anything about a reward, though I suppose some extra credit might be in order,” Lilith replied.

“Not even for that,” said Amity, standing up from her chair again and looking her teacher in the eye. She was standing tall and firm, without even a hint of nervousness... though part of that was knowing that Lilith was much more open about her choice of friends than her parents would be. “And I'm telling Luz the truth, I'm not going to trick her. I'm telling her that you put me up to this.”

“Amity, it's all right... you can say whatever you need to say. I'm not asking you to lie or trick your friend, and certainly not to threaten her. Tell her what you want to tell her, but I'm asking you...”

Lilith took Amity's hands in hers, and Amity thought for a moment that she could feel her mentor's hands trembling as much as hers were.

“I'm asking you, as a sister, to help Edalyn understand,” said Lilith. “You don't have to do this... and I know I'm asking a lot of you, but I promise, the clock is ticking.”

Amity took a deep breath, then sighed. She looked down at her hands in Lilith's, wondering if she could really work up the courage to ask so much of the girl she loved.

_I can't ask Luz to tell Eda to turn herself in. Eda means everything to Luz... way more than me. It'd be like asking me to turn in my own mother, and as much of a pain as she can be sometimes, I still love her._

Amity looked back up at Lilith's face.

_But if I don't... Luz could die._

“I'll... think on it,” said Amity, before turning to walk away from Lilith. Lilith released Amity's hands, but called out to her one last time as she left.

“Please, remember what I said.”

Lilith released the seal on the door, and Amity put her hand on the knob, turning it slowly. She looked back at Lilith one more time.

“Thanks, for... for what you said about Willow.”

“Of course, Amity. My door is always open to you. And I trust that you'll do the right thing.”

“...I will, Miss Lilith.”

O-O-O

Amity didn't wait even a second after leaving Hexside to make her way to the Owl House as fast as her legs could carry her. She wanted to talk to Luz... she _needed_ to talk to Luz. She was going to tell Luz everything... and as nervous as she was about how her friend would take the message, she needed to say it now, or she'd be feeling guilty about keeping silent until she did.

She walked up to the door and confronted Hooty without fear. Hooty still had those bandages, though his eyepatch had been removed, and he could just barely see out of that eye. He took one look at Amity as she raised her hand to knock on the door, and with a hoot and a whimper, the door opened.

“Good, I see you've learned your lesson,” said Amity, walking past Hooty and into the living room of the Owl House. She didn't have to wait long to find Luz, who was sitting on the couch practicing another glyph. _Good, she's alone, I think. I need to talk to her in private... though private means that that dumb bird tube can't be listening in either._

Luz looked up to see Amity walking toward her, with a determined and slightly urgent look on her face. She stood up, briefly abandoning her quest to learn a fire spell, and greeted Amity with her usual enthusiasm.

“Hey, Amity! Still excited about Grom Night, or did you come here to talk about Azura? Wait, you look upset, did something happen?”

“Yes, we need to talk, in private, now,” said Amity, taking Luz by the hand.

“Well, Eda and King will be in town for a while-”

“Away from the bird,” said Amity, pulling Luz outside with her.

“Gosh, you don't trust me?” asked Hooty, though a glare from Amity quickly silenced him.

Amity led Luz away from the house until she was sure she was out of Hooty's earshot, though the longer she spent pulling Luz away, the more Luz tugged and protested.

“Wait, Amity, what's this about? Why all the secrecy? Just tell me, don't drag me out into the woods like some kidnapper! Wait, is this part of a prank? Like a fake kidnapping for a big Grudgby match? I thought you only did that with the school's mascot. Should I put on my unicorn suit?”

“Luz!” shouted Amity, finally releasing Luz's hand. “Lilith asked me to get you to make Eda join the Emperor's Coven!”

“What...?” stammered Luz, raising her eyebrow. “You mean that raven lady from the Covention?”

“Yeah, her,” said Amity.

“Oh, she also tried to arrest me when me and Eda switched bodies!”

“Huh?”

“...nevermind,” said Luz, shaking her head. “Anyway, what's all this about? Why does she think I would ask Eda to join the Coven? Eda hates the Emperor's Coven, she's told me like a thousand times! Besides, we're already in a coven together... the Bad Girl Coven! We have t-shirts, want one?”

Amity blushed a bit, finding Luz's enthusiasm and her mention of a 'bad girl coven' quite charming... she didn't know if she wanted a t-shirt from them, but she did think it was cute.

“Lilith says that the Emperor could help her with her curse,” said Amity. “Do you... know about Eda's curse?”

“Of course I do,” said Luz. “Eda turned into that thing practically the first week I came here, and we've been trying to figure out a cure together ever since. The thing is, it's gotten worse... she used to use a potion to make the curse go away, but now she needs a lot more of the potion, and she's worried that soon, the potion might not work at all.”

“Lilith's worried too,” said Amity. “That's... why she asked for my help. But Luz, I told her no. I said I wouldn't do anything that might hurt you, no matter what she offered me... or threatened me with, though thankfully it didn't come to that. That's why I came here, to tell you about Lilith's offer. Luz, I promise, I wasn't going to help her.”

“It's okay, Amity,” replied Luz, smiling warmly at her friend and taking her hand to calm her down. “I appreciate you telling me, but I get it... she probably offered you a spot in the Emperor's Coven, right?”

“Well, no,” said Amity. “Just some extra credit. But even if she had-”

“Amity, I told you, it's okay!”

Luz could tell that Amity felt guilty about even considering Lilith's request, and wanted to reassure her friend that she didn't hold any of it against her. For Amity, it was not only reassuring for Luz to try and comfort her so quickly, but also touching, and she felt a hint of a blush make its way to her cheeks, especially as Luz's hands tightened around her own.

“Aren't you worried that Lilith might try to use me against you?” asked Amity. “Considering... you know, that big splash we made together at Grom?”

“It _is_ a classic fanfic trope,” replied Luz. “Bad guy pits two friends against each other, threatens one to get them to turn on the other... not that I'm saying Lilith is a bad guy! It's just, you know....”

“I get it,” said Amity. “But Luz, what about Eda's curse? Lilith said that Eda might lose control entirely, and if you're there when it happens...”

“I suppose I'll do the same thing I did last time,” said Luz, kneeling down on the ground and encouraging Amity to kneel down next to her. After Amity had done so, Luz traced a light glyph into the dirt. “Actually, this is how I learned my very first spell, when Eda transformed and came after me! She had me and King cornered, and I thought I was done for, but then.... pow!”

Luz slammed her hand down on the ground, and a big ball of light appeared. Knowing that Amity might not expect this, Luz gently covered Amity's eyes from behind, protecting her from the flash while closing her own eyes to protect herself. After the flash ended, Luz lowered her hands, and Amity looked back at her, blinking quickly.

“So you've... dealt with Eda like that before,” said Amity, breathing a quiet sigh. “But still... aren't you worried she'll change... you know, permanently?”

“We're not gonna let that happen,” said Luz. “We're working together on a solution, one not involving swearing eternal fealty to the Emperor. I'm studying potions at school, maybe I can slap together a cure. I'm studying all the different tracks, actually, so maybe using a few different things in conjunction with potions might help! Like the Healer track, or the Plant track...”

“Lilith said she tried to help Eda, but even her magic didn't work,” said Amity, sighing as she pushed her shoes slightly into the ground, starting to fidget again. “But knowing that you were already able to stop her when she was coming after you, that's kinda reassuring.”

Amity looked over at Luz, who was trying to reassure her with a positive expression... though it wasn't helping very much.

“Lilith tried to say that if I helped Eda, it would be helping you, but... I don't know, something tells me there's more to it than that. I trust Lilith, but I know she does some... kind of rough stuff on the side, all in the name of preserving Emperor Belos' rule. I don't know how Eda fits into all of it, but considering how much of a rebel Eda is and how powerful she is, I imagine the Emperor sees Eda as a threat.”

“Wouldn't surprise me, considering the massive bounty on her head,” said Luz, looking over at Amity as a hint of concern showed on her face. “Is this the first time she's come to you about me?”

“Yeah, and she seemed really desperate too, like she was almost begging me,” replied Amity. “I want to believe it was out of genuine concern for Eda's well-being-”

“It probably was,” Luz said, reaching over and taking Amity's hand. “They are sisters, after all.”

Amity looked over at Luz as the two of them held hands, looking into her eyes and seeing such warmth in them... and hearing it in her voice, as Luz, someone who barely knew Lilith, could see more good in her at the moment than Amity, someone who'd been training under her for years, and who loved her almost as much as she loved her own mother. Why was Luz able to see what Amity couldn't? Why was Luz able to trust Lilith more than Amity could? Why was Luz so nice at all?

“I know, but they're not the closest sisters...” said Amity. “Lilith used those memory tweezers to show me some moments from their school days. Some of them were good, but some of them were real bad, worse even than anything Ed and Em have done. It seems like whatever rift lays between them started when they were just a little bit older than us.”

“It probably started when Eda turned down the chance to join a coven,” said Luz. “Eda didn't want to be tied down to one, but Lilith... Lilith wants to keep order in the Boiling Isles, or something like that. And now... well, when I switched bodies with Eda, Lilith wanted to force the Emperor's Brand onto me. She knew it was me in Eda's body, but she still wanted to put that brand on my skin...”

“...almost as if she didn't care how the curse got lifted, she wanted it lifted even if it meant putting you through all that,” said Amity, a bit of anger in her voice as she imagined how terrified Luz must have been when they went to put the Emperor's Brand on her, and wishing it was something she could've confronted Lilith about. “I know Lilith cares about Eda. She's not a bad person, and she truly thinks that the Emperor is the only one who can remove Eda's curse.”

“Then we'll just have to prove her wrong!” said Luz enthusiastically, taking Amity's hand and helping her to her feet. “Me and Eda will come up with that cure, no matter what it takes!”

“Do you even know what you're saying?”

“Yep, it's impossible, right?”

“...just like it's supposed to be impossible for a human to do magic,” said Amity, a hint of a smile forming on her face as she looked at Luz with bewildered amazement. “Luz, I won't ask you to try and convince Eda to join the coven. I know you'll do things your own way, no matter what anyone says. I'm just asking you to be careful.”

“Amity... maybe you can help me? I mean, I probably don't know as much about potions as you do, and you're a great reader, I bet you'd be awesome at researching a way to break the curse!”

“Are you asking me to help you break the curse on Eda?”

“And maybe join the Bad Girl Coven?” asked Luz, pulling Amity in a bit closer and causing her to blush fiercely.

“I dunno about that last one, but I'll do what I can to help with the curse. Just... let's keep this a secret from Lilith, okay? She knows I might not ask you to get Eda to join the coven, I'm not sure I want her to know just yet that I'm helping you guys break the curse.”

“Well, doesn't she want the curse broken? You said it yourself, she doesn't care how it gets broken, she wants it broken no matter what?”

“I know, I know, but... she'd be annoyed with me if I knew she was working with you and Eda to break it. She knows we're friends, and she's okay with that, but this might be a bridge too far.”

“Well, we kept the Azura Book Club a secret this long, what's one more secret between friends, right?”

As the two girls giggled together, they looked back toward the Owl House and started walking together, hand in hand. Amity was enjoying herself a bit more than Luz knew she was, though from the smile Luz was giving her, Amity already figured out that Luz knew she was having a good time.

“Listen... things might get a bit complicated soon,” said Amity. “Lilith's never asked me to do anything like that before, and I don't know what else she's up to.”

“Eh, we're used to it,” said Luz, shrugging her shoulders. “Worse comes to worse, we just move the house! Eda's pretty good at running from the law, and I'm pretty good at following her.”

“I know, it's just... be careful, okay?”

“Awww, somebody's worried about me,” said Luz, leaning on Amity a bit and continuing to smile at her.

“It's not that I'm worried, it's that you're reckless! And so's Eda, were you like that before you two met or have you always been like this?”

“Guess we're just a couple of bad influences on each other... and if you join the Bad Girl Coven, we can be bad influences on you too!”

“I think you already _are_ a bad influence,” said Amity, smiling as she pushed back slightly against Luz. The two girls giggled and pushed against one another all the way back to the Owl House, and as happy as Luz was to be enjoying this time with her friend, Amity was even happier... and Luz didn't even know it.

Amity couldn't help but be worried about Luz, not just from the threat of Eda's transformations, but from the Emperor's Coven's plans as well. She loved Lilith, but she now knew that Lilith was willing to put the Emperor's Brand on anyone to get what she wanted, including Luz. She didn't know what else Lilith had planned... but after Grom Night, she knew what side she would take if it came to that.

_Lilith, I'm sorry._

_But I told you... I will NEVER hurt Luz._

_And I'll never let anyone else hurt her either._

O-O-O

The night was young, and Lilith had one more stop to make before heading home. She hoped that the young student would be home and willing to give a moment of her time.

Amity Blight was still Lilith's best pupil, and her favorite as well. The girl reminded Lilith so much of herself when she was that age, and sometimes, when she was teaching her, she almost felt what it was like to have a daughter of her own, something she doubted she'd ever have considering how busy her work kept her.

_And I understand why Edalyn cares so much for the human girl_ , thought Lilith, knocking on the student's door and waiting patiently for someone to answer.  _Which is why I hope Amity will come through for all three of us._

And yet... Lilith was no longer sure. Her brightest star was fading, ever so slightly, falling out of her orbit, into the orbit of another. Lilith understood, and knew how painful it had been for Amity, being without a true friend for so long... but she could leave nothing to chance.

Her sister's life, and the future of the Boiling Isles, depended on it.

The door opened, and two men answered. One had light skin and wore thin glasses, the other had dark skin and a thick beard. The bearded man spoke.

“Are you... Lilith?”

“I am,” she said with a smile.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit from such an esteemed member of the Emperor's Coven?” asked the bearded man, speaking to Lilith with great respect and reverence.

“I'd like to speak with your daughter,” said Lilith. “Is she home?”

“Of course,” said the bearded man, as his husband called to their daughter.

“Willow? There's someone here to see you, from the Emperor's Coven!”

“Am I in trouble?” came a soft voice from upstairs.

“I don't think so...”

“Okay, I'll come down.”

A short time later, Willow was facing Lilith, who looked down at her with a friendly smile.

“Willow, I'm Lilith Clawthorne, from the Emperor's Coven... but I'm sure you already know that.”

“Of course, everyone knows who you are,” said Willow, looking a bit nervous... after all, she'd been regularly associating with Eda, a known criminal, and she knew quite well that Lilith was Eda's sister. “Uh, is this about that time at the carnival last week?”

“Oh no, actually, I have an opportunity for you, if you're interested,” said Lilith, looking up at Willow's parents. “Is it all right if I step outside with Willow for a moment to have a private conversation? She's welcome to discuss everything with you afterward, of course.”

“Well, all right, if that's okay with Willow,” said the bespectacled man, looking down at his daughter.

“It's fine,” said Willow. She and Lilith stepped outside, and Willow closed the door behind them. Now that they were alone, Willow found herself slightly intimidated by the powerful coven leader, but she doubted Lilith had ill intentions toward her, even if she had been associating with Eda recently... and if Lilith _did_ have ill intentions, Willow could defend herself to some extent, making her slightly less nervous. “Um... so... what did you have in mind?”

“Willow, I know you've struggled at Hexside before this year... you were on the abominations track, correct?”

“Yeah... I didn't really want to be, but my dads thought it could help me make friends... literally.”

“Mmm, yes, that is the pitch they've decided to go with... my pupil Amity joined that track for the same reason, I believe.”

“I know,” said Willow, trying to stay polite but wanting Lilith to get to the point quickly.

“But then once you joined the plant track, you blossomed... no pun intended,” said Lilith, though Willow couldn't help but giggle, and tried to stifle herself. “Actually, you're one of the most brilliant plant track students in recent memory... your teachers have given you extremely high marks, and you've shown impressive talent, especially considering you're new to the track.”

“Well, I studied in secret, but... thanks,” said Willow, allowing herself a smile.

“Don't be so modest, I'm quite impressed with your talents as well,” replied Lilith. “In fact, I'd like to offer you a chance to study under me personally, twice a week after school.”

Willow looked surprised at Lilith's offer, especially considering that it was a privilege only afforded to the most talented students at Hexside... though her smile turned into a frown when she then remembered it was a privilege only afforded to the richest students at Hexside as well.

“Oh... well that's a nice offer, but my parents can't afford-”

“Free of charge,” Lilith interrupted. “Consider it a scholarship for one of Hexside's brightest young talents.”

“Really?” stammered Willow, finding herself unable to believe that Lilith was making such an offer to her. Just a few months ago, she was known to everyone as 'Half A Witch Willow'... now, she'd be given an honor that only the most talented witches were able to enjoy... witches like Amity. “Wait a minute... is this because of Amity? Did... did Amity put you up to this?”

“No, I decide for myself which students to take under my wing,” said Lilith, placing her hand on Willow's shoulder. “Though I am quite upset that I didn't realize your potential before...”

“That's okay, nobody else did either,” said Willow, bowing her head slightly.

“It's all right, Willow... I know what it's like to be ignored... to be treated like less of a witch than you truly are. I've heard about the teasing you've endured, the bullying... but I promise you, once everyone gets to see your true talents, you'll get all the respect you deserve.”

Willow looked up at Lilith, and could see for the first time not the stern leader of the Emperor's Coven, but a compassionate, understanding teacher... one who understood what she'd been through, and truly cared about her, and was truly sorry for ignoring her like everyone else had done.

“Well, when you put it that way... of course I'll take lessons from you! I'd love to! But.. would I be taking lessons with Amity?”

“No, all of my sessions are private,” said Lilith. “It would be just the two of us, I feel that the one-on-one approach allows a witch's true potential to shine through. However, you might have the opportunity to train alongside Amity if you both wanted to. I could arrange it, of course.”

“Well... Amity and I have started patching things up recently, but I'm still not sure if I'm ready to be her friend again after everything that's happened. Maybe taking a lesson together would help us bond?”

“I'll see what I can do,” said Lilith. “In the meantime, why don't you ask your parents about my offer, and if the answer is yes, I'll be at Hexside after school tomorrow. We can begin our first lesson then.”

“I sure will!” said Willow excitedly. She started to turn back to the door of her house, but before she did, she turned and gave Lilith a tight hug, a gesture that took Lilith aback, making her recoil slightly before returning Lilith's embrace with a pat on the back. “Sorry, I'm just... so excited!”

“It's all right, I'm looking forward to teaching you.”

“Thanks...!”

As Willow disappeared inside her house, Lilith turned back and made her way down the road towards home... she knew that it would be almost as difficult to get Willow to obey her request as it would have been to get Amity to do so.. but something about Willow made Lilith far more confident that she'd be successful in her endeavor.

_Edalyn, you've always been a stubborn one._

_But I will do whatever I need to do to save you._

_Even if you don't want to be saved._

Lilith would have smiled if she took any pleasure in what she needed to do... but she took none, and her face retained its stoic expression as she walked briskly down the street, arms at her sides, clenching her hands into fists to keep her attention focused on the task at hand.

One way or another, she would save her sister.

She knew people would get hurt, and she cared about every single one of them.

But not enough to keep her from doing what needed to be done.


End file.
